Only an hour after picking Xiao Qiu up from the hospital, Xiao Yi found himself faced with a difficult challenge - he had to walk up seven flights of stairs with two large suitcases in tow.
This time, the elevator wasn’t closed due to maintenance, but it also didn’t give a reason for being down which somehow irritated Xiao Yi further. The white piece of paper taped at eye level only read. ‘Shut down. Please use the stairs instead, sorry for the inconvenience.’
He cursed, thinking to himself. ‘If I was a real, paying tenant, I’d want to move out!’
He even went as far as to sit on the edge of a suitcase and text Lee a picture of the sign captioned with. “Can you fix your elevator someday? Do you need me to find someone?”
A minute passed and Xiao Yi stretched out his legs before standing up and grabbing the handles of his suitcases.
Plop.
Plop.
Plop.
The suitcases crashed against each step as he tugged them up with no regard for the other tenants. It wasn’t as if he were making a racket when everyone was sleeping, and the doors separating each floor from the staircase were quite soundproof when not propped open.
His only regret was that he hadn’t taken V up on his offer to drop him off on his way to the airport. He vividly remembered waving him off, thinking to himself that it was only a short walk from the team base to the apartment. Who knew that he’d be hiking, instead?
Four flights into his trek, Xiao Yi heard footsteps coming from above and hurriedly reached the next platform so he could shove his bags against the wall and give the people more room to move. Also, to limit the possibility of being bumped into on the staircase with his hands full.
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A moment later, three tall men in black uniforms turned the corner and the first one to see him stepped back and covered his heart as he cursed. “Shit, are you a ghost?!”
Xiao Yi raised an eyebrow as if to ask, ‘Are you stupid?’, while the two others walked into sight and burst out laughing at their other friend.
One, the one who had called Xiao Yi a ghost, had short black hair with highlights. Although he was tall, he had a baby face with slightly chubby cheeks that looked deliciously pinchable.
Behind him, one of the men had a red-haired mullet that matched his jaded features and demeanor, whilst the other had a buzz cut that showed off his pierced ears.
The red-haired one walked past the chubby cheeks friend and bowed his head slightly, still chuckling as he apologized. “Sorry about him, he’s a bit stupid.”
Xiao Yi shook his head and said nothing, still waiting for them to move out of the way.
As if the pierced ears man noticed, he gently pushed the now red-faced pinch-able man down the remaining three steps and also bowed slightly as he passed Xiao Yi.
None of the three men noticed when Xiao Yi’s gaze faltered on the emblem of their uniform for a moment, nor did they see the thoughtful expression in his eyes as he took his suitcases up the rest of the stairs.
Yet, neither did Xiao Yi notice when the red-haired man spun in his treks and stared at his back.
‘EDGE.’
It wasn’t unusual for another team to crash into floor seven’s second apartment, but it was a bit strange that a team that was well known to be full of wealthy young masters and businessmen who leisurely played VOL to be living rent-free in Lee’s little run-down apartment building.
Moreover…
Didn’t he witness that ‘stupid’ one being scolded at the entrance before? Why was he still here, then?
As Xiao Yi walked past the now-inhabited second apartment on the seventh floor, he glanced at the door for a brief moment.
If EDGE was here, wouldn’t their meddling leader be here?
His eyes sharpened for a short moment before he entered his apartment. So what if he was? It’s not like their apartment had rules that he needed to get along with his neighbors.